Airplane mode/Wifi/Cellular on or off during flight? (POLL)

[George Race]

Here is a link to a study that I did on interference from wifi, bluetooth, etc...
Always Airplane Mode

 

[slbynum]

Airplane mode all the way. BTW, on my Iphone 6+ GPS still works in airplane mode. not sure about other phones/brands.

 

[jephoto]

Here is a link to a study that I did on interference from wifi, bluetooth, etc...
Always Airplane Mode

Excellent tests and info! Thanks for doing this.
Question- since I have an iPad Mini3 wifi only dedicated for flying the P3- I've been using my personal hotspot to get my maps on location.
Only began doing that last April when I changed plans & got the hotspot. Previously had to preload & cache maps.
Are you saying that by leaving the personal Hotspot on- which uses Bluetooth to communicate to the iPad, I am seriously degrading the signal fro the P3 to the controller?
That I should still cache the maps after loading them in site, then shut off the Bluetooth?

Or would moving the phone 6-10' away and still using the Personal Hotspot be ok?
I've flown quite often with the Hotspot on, but haven't paid attention much to if my signal is worse or unaffected by using the Hotspot simultaneously.
Being in a chicago in winter it may be a while before I can really test it.....

Also- I've kept my DJI Go at an older version (don't know off top of head which) so I'm still using the good Google Maps instead of the horrible HERE maps.
Hope they fix that by the time I Have to upgrade with a P4P....

Also- is there anywhere on the Go software that's shows the signal strength without all your fancy gear so I can see even a crude difference in signal with my cell wifi & Bluetooth on & off?

 

[jephoto]

Excellent tests and info! Thanks for doing this.
Question- since I have an iPad Mini3 wifi only dedicated for flying the P3- I've been using my personal hotspot to get my maps on location.
Only began doing that last April when I changed plans & got the hotspot. Previously had to preload & cache maps.
Are you saying that by leaving the personal Hotspot on- which uses Bluetooth to communicate to the iPad, I am seriously degrading the signal fro the P3 to the controller?
That I should still cache the maps after loading them in site, then shut off the Bluetooth?

Or would moving the phone 6-10' away and still using the Personal Hotspot be ok?
I've flown quite often with the Hotspot on, but haven't paid attention much to if my signal is worse or unaffected by using the Hotspot simultaneously.
Being in a chicago in winter it may be a while before I can really test it.....

Also- I've kept my DJI Go at an older version (don't know off top of head which) so I'm still using the good Google Maps instead of the horrible HERE maps.
Hope they fix that by the time I Have to upgrade with a P4P....

Also- is there anywhere on the Go software that's shows the signal strength without all your fancy gear so I can see even a crude difference in signal with my cell wifi & Bluetooth on & off?

George- 1 more thing.
- I got one of those ELF GPS devices that is supposed to tie into my iPad- and DJI Go software - to make the GPS position on our maps more accurate. And actually give my iPad GPS capability as it doesn't have it internally.
And it's a Bluetooth device. Worn on my wrist or in pocket usually.

I've always been a bit fuzzy on how this actually works, or if it really does at all.
Again, based on your tests, is this actually hurting me more than helping? Or by placing the phone, and elf 6-10' away would it still be of value- or is it really not doing anything at all for me??? (Anything good)

 

[rstekeur]

I purchased an iPad air 2 specifically for use with my phantom. I hate this thing for anything other than use with the Phantom. It has become a $500 phantom accessory

I got a Ipad Mini 3 for that same reason. I have 4-5 apps installed and nothing else> I use it on my P3P and Inspire only and it does work good.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Airplane mode all the way. BTW, on my Iphone 6+ GPS still works in airplane mode. not sure about other phones/brands.

You can also turn on WiFi while in Airplane mode, to download maps on the fly.

 

[GadgetGuy]

George- 1 more thing.
- I got one of those ELF GPS devices that is supposed to tie into my iPad- and DJI Go software - to make the GPS position on our maps more accurate. And actually give my iPad GPS capability as it doesn't have it internally.
And it's a Bluetooth device. Worn on my wrist or in pocket usually.

I've always been a bit fuzzy on how this actually works, or if it really does at all.
Again, based on your tests, is this actually hurting me more than helping? Or by placing the phone, and elf 6-10' away would it still be of value- or is it really not doing anything at all for me??? (Anything good)

The Bad Elf supplies GPS location data to the Wifi only iPad, via a Bluetooth connection, that can be used by DJI GO to reset the Home Point to the transmitter location, and can be used for Follow Me. It won't interfere with your flight controls.

 

[JFHughes08088]

I fly with a WiFi only nVidia tablet dedicated for flight only. WiFi on alwaya and connected to mobile Hotspot for map access. Never had an issue.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I use my iPhone 6 Plus for hotspotting maps in the field, while flying with my Wifi only 9.7" iPadPro. Never had an issue either!

 

[jephoto]

The Bad Elf supplies GPS location data to the Wifi only iPad, via a Bluetooth connection, that can be used by DJI GO to reset the Home Point to the transmitter location, and can be used for Follow Me. It won't interfere with your flight controls.

Cool. Thanks. I've never noticed any bad effects from using it.
Matter of fact I definitely used it for this shot- about 1.25 miles out using my parabolic antenna booster:

That being said, if it won't interfere with my controller, just what exactly should I be turning off during flight to minimize interference?
Or is it just proximity- having the phone too close to the controller?

I can definitely put both phone and Bad ELF in my case & keep it 10' away and still get both the Hotspot and Bluetooth functions.
Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[GadgetGuy]

Cool. Thanks. I've never noticed any bad effects from using it.
Matter of fact I definitely used it for this shot- about 1.25 miles out using my parabolic antenna booster:

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Nice shot! How did the Bad Elf help with the shot, though, or were you referring to using a windsurfer?

 

[jephoto]

Yes. I meant I used a Windsurfer to get the range. And had the Bad Elf running to (supposedly) give the bird a more accurate GPS position for the home point.
My understanding of why exactly it's better is limited. But since my iPad mini 3 doesn't have GPS inside, I figured it couldn't hurt...

There were some extensive posts about using it about a year of so back. That's when I decided to get one. Does it really make a difference? Truthfully I'm not sure. I've flown plenty without it as well, successfully. I've no real way to measure the difference.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[jephoto]

Yes. I meant I used a Windsurfer to get the range. And to make a correction- I have the Duel Electronics 150a GPS- not the Elf- sorry for the error- to (supposedly) give the bird a more accurate GPS position for the home point.
My understanding of why exactly it's better is limited. But since my iPad mini 3 doesn't have GPS inside, I figured it couldn't hurt...

There were some extensive posts about using it about a year of so back. That's when I decided to get one. Does it really make a difference? Truthfully I'm not sure. I've flown plenty without it as well, successfully. I've no real way to measure the difference.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes. I meant I used a Windsurfer to get the range. And had the Bad Elf running to (supposedly) give the bird a more accurate GPS position for the home point.
My understanding of why exactly it's better is limited. But since my iPad mini 3 doesn't have GPS inside, I figured it couldn't hurt...

There were some extensive posts about using it about a year of so back. That's when I decided to get one. Does it really make a difference? Truthfully I'm not sure. I've flown plenty without it as well, successfully. I've no real way to measure the difference.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

The Home Point is set by the GPS in the aircraft at launch, and not the tablet. The only reason for needing GPS from the tablet itself would be to reset the Home Point to a new location that you have moved the RC to, such as a moving boat, or driving along in a car, or to use the Follow Me function. Otherwise, it is not needed at all.

 

[Magicmanp4]

Nice post, thanks for sharing

Sent from my 2014817 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[jephoto]

The Home Point is set by the GPS in the aircraft at launch, and not the tablet. The only reason for needing GPS from the tablet itself would be to reset the Home Point to a new location that you have moved the RC to, such as a moving boat, or driving along in a car, or to use the Follow Me function. Otherwise, it is not needed at all.

Yes- thanks for that. Haven't shot from a boat yet- although we have a client with dinner cruise boats where it might happen.
But a few times I have reset my home point while out in the field when I've walked a good distance from the takeoff point and wanted to be sure the bird returned to me rather than 2 blocks away on the far side of a property.
That is handy indeed....

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes- thanks for that. Haven't shot from a boat yet- although we have a client with dinner cruise boats where it might happen.
But a few times I have reset my home point while out in the field when I've walked a good distance from the takeoff point and wanted to be sure the bird returned to me rather than 2 blocks away on the far side of a property.
That is handy indeed....

It's a great feature to have, especially if you are asked to leave your launch point, or need to move to maintain signal, or are flying from a moving platform.